9.03.2010

Bear Lake

About a week ago we were in lovely Garden City Utah. It was very relaxing. I love being on vacation, getting out of the everyday routine, and having Jasen around all the time. It was so nice. Here are just a few pictures. I didn't bring my camera, so these are from Betsy and Aly's cameras.

This is one of the small ponds near Bloomington lake where we went to check out the scenery and jump off the rope swing and some nearby cliffs.

Here's Kip about to take the first leap. Apparently it's the Stromberg tradition to make Kip be the first to do anything risky. Ryan and Jasen always tested out scary situations that way. Eventually they all jumped (and Betsy and Aly too). Gabe sat near the shore and threw pebbles into the lake the entire time.

After fun at the lake we hiked a small ways back to where the cars were parked and had tin foil dinners around a campfire. While the food cooked Gabe played with rocks and Hannah Riley strolled around the camping area.

Hannah showing us a rock. She likes to copy Gabe, but what she enjoyed the most on vacation was just getting to roam around free in whatever direction she wanted to go without anyone leading her. It was easy to keep her happy wherever we went; it would be someones job to follow her around and she'd just walk around and explore, occasionally stopping to pick up something off the ground and sometimes if it looked interesting she'd taste it.

Boating day / playing on the beach:

We brought pretzels to snack on. Hannah liked to dip hers in the dirt/sand and then eat them. Yum yum!

Pickleville Playhouse was way fun. The show "JuanitoBandito Rides Again" was actually really cute and funny. Bear Lake is pretty close to Logan, and therefore also close to Utah State. So, about half the cast happened to be members of Doug's ward. They called their beloved bishop up on stage before the show for the sing-a-long/ audience warm-up.

Jasen and I were both really surprised by how much the kids like the show. They sat still and just watched for over half of it without getting restless, which of course is saying a lot for a one and two year old who normally only watch cartoons. After intermission they snacked on popcorn, skittles, and root beer, and that held them over without too much fussing until the end. Considering that it lasted close to three hours with only a small amount of whining and playing musical laps, it was a successful event.

This bunny had a small role in the play, but a big part in Gabe's eyes.